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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bass — low music
  9. wind — moving air
  10. shower — rain
  11. spell — a short time
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. spell — letters
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. spell — magic
  17. bass — the fish
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wound — an injury
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. tear — from crying
  23. vault — a safe
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com